Bad Bunny Responds To His Critics At Coachella

Over the last year, Bad Bunny fans have learned how to share their megastar, born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, with the world. There's no better example of this than his history making performance at Coachella this year. The rapper and singer became the first Latinx artist to headline the world's most revered music festival, making his performance a defining moment for Latin artists everywhere, and especially a point of pride for his home of Puerto Rico. In a sea of the festival's traditional crochet sundresses and cowboy boots, Puerto Rico jerseys, island memorabilia, and even his own Adidas sneakers speckled the crowd, reminding those around them who they really came for. 

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The two-hour, high energy set was a rousing retrospective of Bad Bunny's rise over the last six years. He flowed between Un Verano Sin Ti earworms like "Tití Me Preguntó" and earlier fan favourites like "La Difícil" and "Safaera", and brought out collaborators such as Jowell Y Randy and Jhay Cortez. Known for his fluid sense of style which can often include mesh tops and pleated skirts when he feels like it, he instead graced the stage in an oversized patchwork puffer and matching pants with nothing underneath, opting to show off a new chest tattoo, his six-pack abs, and a trio of blinding diamond chains; a uniform of men in music when they know they're on top of the world.

There was an almost performance between the artist and Post Malone, unfortunately botched by faulty mic wiring (that affected other artists including Becky G and Kali Uchis earlier in the day). In between songs, Bad Bunny played clips that gave those less familiar with him in the crowd a history lesson not just on his ascent, but the music and legends who came before him, featuring vignettes on the style and sound of Puerto Rico and artists like Tego Calderon, Hector Lavoe, and more.

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While Bad Bunny typically always pays homage to the sounds that shaped him, this time around it felt especially poignant. For the first time in his undisputed rise to the top, fans have visibly aired out some of their grievances with the star. Like a many heartthrobs before him, he's rumoured to be dating a certain supermodel leaving some fans less than thrilled. A recent TIME cover story featured comments on cultural gatekeeping and colorism within reggaeton that the internet quickly called out as flippant. It's safe to say the singer saw the discourse, because he addressed it all at the halfway point of his performance.

In short, Bad Bunny insisted that the only trusted source into his life is whatever comes directly from him. He reiterated that unlike what was recently written about him, he would never regret or go back on the true meaning of one some of his most politically-tinged tracks like "El Apagón" (The Blackout), which in just a year has become a prideful anthem for the resilience of Puerto Ricans. His educational interludes heavily featured Afrolatino talent, driving home the point that he's well aware of the true creators of the genre that made him. He hinted that he would address the discourse the day before the festival began, writing alongside a series of thirst traps on Instagram, "I have so much to tell you, but I better tell you tomorrow at Coachella."

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Few stars can escape the wrath of the internet, and if anything the fervent reaction to Bad Bunny's every move as of late signifies the magnitude of this point in his career even more. His fans are hard on him because they love him—almost achingly so. While he's worked to stay humble, people have increasingly deified him which makes every out of context quote, every rumored relationship, and every career move open to the utmost scrutiny. His Coachella performance however was a clear response to it all; it's going to take a lot more than conversation to count him out. And based on the visible response to his biggest performance thus far—the screams, the tears, the unfiltered joy—we're not done listening yet, either.

This article originally appeared in Harper’s BAZAAR US.